10th Edition Published of Southeast Faculty Member’s Radio Textbook

Dr. Bruce Mims, professor of mass media at Southeast Missouri State University, recently had the 10th edition of his popular textbook “The Radio Station” published by Focal Press.

“It is an honor to be selected by Focal Press to carry forward this pioneering text,” Mims said. “Our objective is to offer students a textbook that is as complete and comprehensive as possible to prepare them for their careers,” Mims said.

The introductory textbook, co-authored with Dr. John Allen Hendricks, chair of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Mass Communication in Nacogdoches, Texas, prepares students for careers in AM/FM and satellite broadcasting, podcasting and Internet radio streaming. The textbook has approximately 150 course adoptions, and its target readership is sophomores and juniors.

Dr. Michael C. Keith, associate professor of the practice in communication at Boston College, published the first edition in 1986, and carried it through the eighth edition.

When Keith retired from academic publishing and Focal Press issued a call for new authors, Mims felt his subject-matter expertise and being publicized in two previous books by Keith made him a good fit for this textbook.

“I saw the authorship of ‘The Radio Station’ as a challenge, especially because I’ve taught from every edition, and I’m very familiar with it,” said Mims, who uses the textbook for his “Audio for Media” course at Southeast. “I invited John to join me as a co-author, and we were selected from over 30 applicants.”

They have been working on the new edition since July 2016 and have continued to include industry-pro input and first-hand experiences, Mims said.

“We have conducted numerous in-person and e-mail interviews,” he said. “The is also a new chapter that focuses on career opportunities, and several successful millennials have contributed essays to it. I’m particularly excited about how well this chapter came together.”

Also unique to the ninth and 10th edition is the addition of an ancillary audio page on the book’s website which contains links to numerous short-form interviews with the pros.

“The Radio Station” is scheduled to be released in April 2018.

Mims received his Bachelor of Science in mass communication from the University of Montevallo and a Master of Arts in communication from the University of Alabama. He earned a doctorate in communication at the University of Southern Mississippi.

He began his commercial radio broadcasting career in 1971 and transitioned to public radio broadcasting and electronic media education in 1977. He has served at Southeast since 1989 and was a faculty advisor to the former student-operated campus radio station, KDMC 103.7 FM.